ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Risk factors predict childhood obesity, researchers find
• Decline in incidence of heart attacks appears associated with smoke-free workplace laws
• Smoke-free laws led quickly to fewer hospitalizations
• Migraine in children may affect school performance
• More than good vibes: Researchers propose the science behind mindfulness
• Quick release bandage tape: No more tears from tears
• Researchers engineer cartilage from pluripotent stem cells
• Common bond between school bullies and their targets: Alcohol abuse
• For many prostate cancer patients, web sites are too difficult to read
• Genetic basis of cardiac, craniofacial birth defects identified
• Early autism intervention improves brain responses to social cues
• Scientists decode 'software' instructions of aggressive leukemia cells
• Prostate cancer prognosis hope
• Proton therapy treatment preserves quality of life for men with prostate cancer, studies suggest
• Stay-at-home transcription factor prevents neurodegeneration
• Insights into new therapy for rare form of cystic fibrosis
• Neutrons help explain why antibiotics prescribed for chemotherapy cause kidney failure
• Sudden cardiac death under age 40: Is exercise dangerous?
• Atrial fibrillation is a 'modifiable' risk factor for stroke
• How to make stem cells: Nuclear reprogramming moves a step forward
• Eye movements and the search for biomarkers for schizophrenia
• Complementary and alternative therapy improved lives of arthritis patients, study suggests
• Exercise makes middle-aged people smarter

Risk factors predict childhood obesity, researchers find Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:52 PM PDT High birth weight, rapid weight gain and having an overweight mother who smokes can all increase the risk of a baby becoming obese later in childhood, research by experts has found.

Decline in incidence of heart attacks appears associated with smoke-free workplace laws Posted: 29 Oct 2012 02:09 PM PDT A decline in the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack) in one Minnesota county appears to be associated with the implementation of smoke-free workplace laws.

Smoke-free laws led quickly to fewer hospitalizations Posted: 29 Oct 2012 02:09 PM PDT Comprehensive smoke-free laws were associated with a rapid 15 percent decrease in hospitalizations for heart attacks, 16 percent for stroke and 24 percent for asthma and other respiratory hospitalizations. The most comprehensive laws -- those covering workplaces, restaurants and bars -- resulted in more health benefits.

Migraine in children may affect school performance Posted: 29 Oct 2012 02:08 PM PDT Children with migraine are more likely to have below average school performance than kids who do not have headaches, according to new research.

More than good vibes: Researchers propose the science behind mindfulness Posted: 29 Oct 2012 01:14 PM PDT Achieving mindfulness through meditation has helped people maintain a healthy mind by quelling negative emotions and thoughts, such as desire, anger and anxiety, and encouraging more positive dispositions such as compassion, empathy and forgiveness. Those who have reaped the benefits of mindfulness know that it works. But how exactly does it work?

Quick release bandage tape: No more tears from tears Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:43 PM PDT Scientists have invented a quick-release tape that has the strong adhesion properties of commercial medical tape, but without the ouch factor upon removal.

Researchers engineer cartilage from pluripotent stem cells Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:43 PM PDT Researchers have engineered cartilage from induced pluripotent stem cells that were successfully grown and sorted for use in tissue repair and studies into cartilage injury and osteoarthritis.

Common bond between school bullies and their targets: Alcohol abuse Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT A new study finds that both school bullies and their victims are likely to abuse alcohol after a bullying episode.

For many prostate cancer patients, web sites are too difficult to read Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT Ninety million American adults read below high school levels. But a study has found that only 4.8 percent of web sites describing prostate cancer were written below a high school reading level. The median reading level was 12th grade.

Genetic basis of cardiac, craniofacial birth defects identified Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have made important advances in the rapidly-expanding field of "regenerative medicine," outlining for the first time connections in genetic regulation that normally prevent birth defects in heart and facial muscles. This basic research will provide a road map to ultimately allow scientists to grow the cell types needed to repair such defects, from stem cells that can be generated from a person's own body.

Early autism intervention improves brain responses to social cues Posted: 29 Oct 2012 10:18 AM PDT An autism intervention program that emphasizes social interactions and is designed for children as young as 12 months has been found to improve cognitive skills and brain responses to faces, considered a building block for social skills. The researchers say that the study is the first to demonstrate that an intensive behavioral intervention can change brain function in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders.

Scientists decode 'software' instructions of aggressive leukemia cells Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:35 AM PDT Scientists have decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They discovered ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, chemical modifications of DNA and surrounding proteins, allowing the research team to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Prostate cancer prognosis hope Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a molecular 'tell' in laboratory experiments that could help doctors determine the severity of a patient's prostate cancer.

Proton therapy treatment preserves quality of life for men with prostate cancer, studies suggest Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:28 AM PDT Two new studies have found that proton therapy preserves the quality of life, specifically urinary and bowel function, in men treated with this targeted radiation modality for prostate cancer.

Stay-at-home transcription factor prevents neurodegeneration Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:27 AM PDT A new study shows how a transcription factor called STAT3 remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration. The findings could pave the way for future drug therapies to slow nerve damage in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Insights into new therapy for rare form of cystic fibrosis Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:24 AM PDT Scientists have established that a drug recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare form of cystic fibrosis works in an unconventional way. Their results reveal new possibilities for treating various forms of cystic fibrosis.

Neutrons help explain why antibiotics prescribed for chemotherapy cause kidney failure Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:24 AM PDT Neutron scattering experiments have provided new insights into the origin of the side effects of an antifungal drug prescribed all over the world. The analysis follows 40 years of debate and could help drug developers reduce these harmful complications.

Sudden cardiac death under age 40: Is exercise dangerous? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:24 AM PDT New research dispels a myth that sudden cardiac death often takes place during rigorous physical activity. In fact, the majority of events occur at home.

Atrial fibrillation is a 'modifiable' risk factor for stroke Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:22 AM PDT There is good evidence that people with an irregular heart beat should have it checked by a doctor. The link between atrial fibrillation -- the most common disturbance of heart rhythm -- and risk of stroke is now beyond dispute, with studies indicating that diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of stroke five times. Similarly, one in five patients diagnosed with stroke are also found to have AF.

How to make stem cells: Nuclear reprogramming moves a step forward Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:22 AM PDT The idea of taking a mature cell and removing its identity (nuclear reprogramming) so that it can then become any kind of cell, holds great promise for repairing damaged tissue or replacing bone marrow after chemotherapy. New research shows that histone H3.3 deposited by the histone-interacting protein HIRA is a key step in reverting nuclei to a pluripotent type, capable of being any one of many cell types.

Eye movements and the search for biomarkers for schizophrenia Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:18 AM PDT There is a long history of research on impaired eye movements associated with schizophrenia. Using a series of simple viewing tests, researchers explored the ability of these eye movement tests to distinguish people with and without the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Using their complete dataset, they were able to develop a model that could discriminate all schizophrenia cases from healthy control subjects with an impressive 98.3% accuracy.

Complementary and alternative therapy improved lives of arthritis patients, study suggests Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:13 AM PDT Nearly a quarter of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis used complementary and alternative therapy (CAT) to help manage their condition, according to a new study.

Exercise makes middle-aged people smarter Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:12 AM PDT Cognitive functions improve significantly after four months of high-intensity interval training program in middle-aged people with increased cardiovascular risk.

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